


A Small Problem

by multifandommess



Category: South Park
Genre: Eric Cartman Being An Asshole, I love that that's a tag lmao, M/M, Panic Attacks, Shrinking, Takes place post S21E02 Put It Down
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-14
Updated: 2019-01-14
Packaged: 2019-10-10 00:17:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17415326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/multifandommess/pseuds/multifandommess
Summary: “As with almost everything crazy that happened in the town of South Park, it started off with Cartman doing something stupid.”Cartman messes with chemicals in the chemistry lab at school and consequently ends up shrinking Tweek, and Craig looks after him until he returns to normal.





	A Small Problem

**Author's Note:**

> Written back when S21 was airing so it doesn't take into account anything that happens post S21
> 
> So I didn’t realize when I was writing the beginning of this fic that the desks at South Park Elementary don’t have openings under them for books and stuff, but I didn’t feel like rewriting that whole scene so let’s just ignore that one little diversion from continuity whoops
> 
> (I also wrote this fic before playing SOT and thus missed out on a perfect opportunity to use the Underpants Gnomes to shrink Tweek instead of the random idea I came up with, but oh well, too late for that.)

****As with almost everything crazy that happened in the town of South Park, it started off with Cartman doing something stupid.

This time, Cartman had waited until the majority of the class--including their teacher--had cleared out of the science lab before starting to mix together chemicals in what he claimed to be an attempt to gain superpowers.

For the most part, whoever was in the room did their best to ignore him and stay out of his way, but of course nothing could ever be easy whenever Cartman was involved--or at least, that’s what Tweek thought as he shakily packed up his things so he could leave the room.

His gaze shot back and forth between the books he was putting into his bag and the fight that had suddenly broken out between Cartman and Kyle, who was trying to get Cartman to dump out the oddly-colored concoction before he drank it and killed himself. Tweek had to give him credit: for as much as Kyle couldn’t stand Cartman and his crazy antics, he at least had enough sense to step in when things looked like they were getting too dangerous for even Cartman himself. Tweek wasn’t sure he could do the same thing after everything Cartman had put him through, but he consoled himself with the thought that he wasn’t the only one who felt that way--he was pretty sure Craig would have held Cartman’s mouth open and dumped the chemical concoction down his throat if he had the chance.

(Well okay, maybe Craig wouldn’t actually go that far. But the thought would definitely be in his head, at least.)

Tweek was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn’t hear the shouts nor see the beaker flying in his direction until the liquid splashed all over him, and the only thought that passed through his mind before he blacked out was that he was glad the liquid didn’t ruin his backpack or the books inside of it.

* * *

“Oh my God, you killed Tweek!”

“You bastard!”

Craig had been waiting for Tweek outside the lab so they could go to lunch, but as soon as he heard Stan and Kyle’s exclamations, he rushed into the room. “You _what?_ ”

Cartman-- _the fat bastard_ \--had the nerve to look _annoyed_ by the accusations. “For your information, I didn’t _kill_ him--he probably just got the superpowers that _I_ was supposed to get and left.”

“He _disappeared_ , fatass!”

Craig looked over at Tweek’s desk, noting that his bag was still on top of the desk and--more importantly--that Tweek was nowhere to be found.

“Ey, if there’s no dead body, then that means he isn’t dead,” Cartman argued, and Craig begrudgingly agreed with him (though he’d never admit it aloud)--he wasn’t going to write his boyfriend off as dead just yet, not until he could see for himself what happened to the blond.

As much as Craig wanted to kick Cartman’s ass (and Kyle’s and Stan’s by extension--Kenny was a pretty decent guy, so he’d let him off the hook), he knew he needed to focus on figuring out what happened to his boyfriend and where the hell he disappeared to, and so he settled for merely flipping the group off and glaring at them. “You assholes have done enough damage in here. Get lost.”

“But shouldn’t we help--”

“I _said_. Get. Lost.”

Kyle and Stan both grimaced as they glanced at each other--it was rare for the normally stoic Craig to get visibly angry, and the last thing they wanted was him shooting lasers out of his eyes at them (Could he still do that? They weren’t exactly in the mood to find out), so the two of them along with Kenny forcefully dragged the still bitching and complaining Cartman out of the room.

Craig let out a long breath and pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation, trying to force himself to calm down so he could think logically and figure out what the hell happened to Tweek.

(A small part of his mind reminded him that logic meant jack shit in South Park and literally anything could have happened to his boyfriend, but he flipped that part of his mind off and told it to shut the hell up.)

Craig decided the best place to start would be inspecting Tweek’s desk for any sort of clues, and so he approached the desk, bending over with a frown to pick up the beaker on the floor next to his chair.

_This is the beaker that fatass was messing with. Maybe there’s something still in it that one of the teachers can identify._

(He wouldn’t pretend that he knew anything about chemistry--he, unlike that idiot Cartman, actually _knew_ when it would be best to step back and leave things to people that actually knew what they’re doing.)

Craig froze when a quiet sound reached his ears, and he held his breath, wondering if it was just his mind playing tricks on him when--

“ _GAH!_ ”

Craig’s eyes widened, his relief outweighing his confusion as he searched for the source of Tweek’s familiar panicked noises. “Tweek? Tweek, are you here? If you are, then say something!”

There was a moment of silence, and Craig was about to call out again when another faint sound reached his ears.

“ _... desk!_ ’

“Desk?” Craig repeated in confusion, his brows furrowing as he took another look at Tweek’s desk.

“ _In-- **agh** \--i-in my desk!_”

“ _In_ your desk…?” Craig parroted once more, his expression growing more bewildered as he set his bag and the beaker down on the floor and cautiously leaned over to look inside Tweek’s desk.

And suddenly, everything clicked in Craig’s mind.

“JESUS!”

Tweek scrambled backwards in his desk, his eyes wide and his tiny body shaking so badly that he was nearly vibrating, and between that and his near-hyperventilating Craig was genuinely worried that the shrunken boy was going to have a heart attack.

“Tweek, honey, calm down.” Craig tried to keep his voice as quiet and steady as possible without outright whispering, and he carefully edged Tweek’s chair aside so he could crouch down and properly look into the desk, his brief flash of bewilderment (both at Tweek’s current predicament and how he had even gotten inside his desk in the first place) fading back into his usual calm and in control attitude--weirder things than this had happened, and more importantly, he needed to focus on calming Tweek down. “It’s okay, it’s just me. No one else is here.”

Tweek’s eyes darted around despite not being able to confirm Craig’s claim from within his desk--or perhaps more likely, he was just having a difficult time looking at the giant face of his boyfriend staring at him.

“Tweek, just take slow, even breaths, okay? Everything’s going to be fine.”

“Fine? _Fine?_ _**GAH!**_ H-how can everything-- _agh_ \--be _fine?!_ Look at me, Craig! _GAH!_ I-I’m like, three in-- _nngh_ \--inches tall or something! What about this is f- _fine?!_ ”

“You’re right, babe,” Craig conceded with a sigh, trying his best to balance his own logic with Tweek’s need to release his emotions. “This is really fucked up, and I’m sure you feel terrified and upset. But what I meant was that you’re safe. I’m not letting anyone so much as look at you while you’re like this, and I’ll protect you until whatever shit the fatass pulled wears off. Okay?”

Tweek seemed to calm down a bit at that--or at least, he went from practically vibrating and hyperventilating to his normal level of panicked anxiety, which Craig considered a step in the right direction if nothing else. Craig made sure to keep a gentle expression on his face as he held a hand out to his boyfriend, keeping his hand at the edge of Tweek’s desk as an invitation rather than further terrifying the boy by reaching in and grabbing him.

“Come on out of there, Tweek. It’s lunch now, so no one will bother us. How about I get us something to eat and we can find somewhere nice and quiet to sit?”

Tweek swallowed thickly as he eyed Craig’s hand nervously. “I-I don’t thi-- _nngh_ \--think I’m very hungry.”

Craig nodded in understanding. “Fair enough. We’ll just skip lunch and stay here, then. No one should bother us in here.”

Tweek’s eyes widened guiltily at that. “ _Jesus!_ You don’t-- _gah_ \--have to _skip lunch_ because of me!”

“I’m skipping because I want to, babe. I’d rather use that time to make sure you’re alright, starting with helping you out of that desk.”

Tweek wrung his hands nervously, swallowing thickly before shakily trying to stand up. He managed to make it two steps before his legs gave out under him and he collapsed with a yelp, his trembling growing worse as tears stung his eyes. “I-I can’t! Craig, oh Jesus, I can’t do it! I-I-- _agh_ \--I can’t m-move! It’s too-- _nngh_ \--too much pressure!! Oh God, oh Jesus, fuck, I can’t--”

Craig’s worried frown deepened as he watched Tweek curl in on himself until he was just a small, shivering, whimpering ball with his hands tightly gripping his hair, and he hesitated for a moment before carefully reaching out and curling his hand around Tweek without physically touching him as he spoke. “It’s okay honey, just take deep breaths… I’m going to help you, okay? Just try not to freak out.”

Tweek tentatively glanced up, wanting to ask how in the world was he not supposed to freak out, when he caught sight of a giant hand to the side of him, and any chance of him not freaking out completely flew out the window as he jumped nearly high enough to hit his head on the top of the inside of his desk.

“ _GAH!_ JESUS CHRIST!!”

“Tweek, it’s okay, calm down. You know I’d never hurt you. I’m just going to help you, okay? You can hold onto my hand for support while you walk.”

Tweek glanced back at the giant hand behind him nervously before looking back at Craig, his patient expression easing a small portion of the frantic fear that was clouding his mind.

_He could have just grabbed me and forced me out, but he didn’t,_ the small portion of Tweek’s brain that wasn’t clouded over with fear and anxiety reminded him, and he clung onto that small bit of logic desperately, turning the reassuring thought of Craig’s patience and support into strength as he shakily forced himself to his feet once more.

Craig smiled proudly as Tweek managed to make it to his feet, his expression softening as he felt a tiny, trembling hand gripping his skin tightly for balance. “Good, that’s it. Just keep walking, I won’t let you fall.”

Tweek focused on putting one foot in front of the other to distract him from the odd (and terrifying) sensation of gripping his boyfriend’s far-too-large hand that was hovering behind him, focusing instead on Craig’s gentle expression and patient words of encouragement until he finally reached the edge of the desk. He made the mistake of glancing down and yelped in fear, reflexively stumbling backwards and jumping with another panicked shout when his back hit Craig’s hand.

“Tweek, babe, it’s alright, you’re not going to fall.” Craig watched his boyfriend worriedly despite his reassurance, ready to grab Tweek at a moment’s notice if the boy’s jumpiness led to him accidentally falling out of the desk--but thankfully it didn’t come to that as Tweek instead gripped the hand behind him shakily, his eyes wide with panic and his breathing erratic.

The more Tweek could see, the more panicked he grew: everything was _huge_ , and _terrifying_ , and could no doubt kill him in a countless number of horrifying ways--

“Tweek!”

“ _GAH!_ ” The frazzled boy jumped once more, reflexively trying to scramble backwards but only succeeding in pressing himself further against Craig’s hand.

Craig frowned, trying to think of a different approach to take to try and ease Tweek’s growing anxiety. “Tweek, close your eyes.”

“ _What?!_ Jesus, wh-why would I-- _agh!_ \--do that?! What if--”

“Tweek, if you trust me, then close your eyes and keep them closed until I say you can open them.”

Tweek swallowed nervously--above all else, he did trust Craig, and so despite his mind screaming at him not to do it, he squeezed his eyes shut.

Craig allowed a brief, relieved smile to flit across his face as Tweek did as he asked before his expression returned to his neutral look. “Now I want you to just focus on my voice, and nothing else. Forget everything around you.” As Craig spoke, he carefully tilted his hand so Tweek was leaning back on it before slowly lifting it out of the desk, and he quickly kept talking when he saw Tweek beginning to panic again. “It’s okay, I’ve got you. As long as you’re with me, you’re safe. Nothing else matters, and no one else matters. Nothing can hurt you, and no one can hurt you.”

Twitch nodded shakily, trying his best to focus on Craig’s voice over the fears swimming through his frazzled mind. He jumped and sat straight up when he suddenly felt something on his head, his eyes flying open on reflex and his panic quickly resurfacing as he saw the giant finger hovering over him. “ _GAH!_ JESUS CHRIST DUDE! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU--”

“Shh, babe, just keep closing your eyes and focus on breathing. I’m not going to hurt you, I promise.”

Craig waited until Tweek’s eyes were squeezed shut once more before he carefully began running his finger over the top of Tweek’s head just like how he would pet Stripe, watching in relief as after a few minutes Tweek’s shaking began to die down to occasional twitches and the tension began easing out of his frame. His heart lifted as Tweek let out a soft sigh, his breathing evening out as he narrowed his focus to Craig’s repetitive motions just as Craig hoped he would. Once he was positive that Tweek had calmed down, he moved his finger down to lightly brush against Tweek’s cheek, and he couldn’t help but smile as the shrunken boy barely even flinched.

“C-Craig…?”

“How are you feeling now, babe? Any better?”

Tweek blushed lightly, hesitating for a moment before reaching out with his eyes still closed, and Craig swore that his heart skipped a beat as he both watched and felt Tweek wrap his arms around Craig’s finger in a hug. Tweek nodded and murmured a soft “thank you” that just barely reached the larger boy’s ears, his mind too preoccupied with processing what he was seeing.

_Cute...._

Craig was hardly even aware of the blush that heated up his own face as he stared down at his shrunken boyfriend, and he only snapped out of it when Tweek pulled back from the hug and finally opened his eyes to look up at him with a tentative smile.

“S-seriously, thank you, Craig. I… I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“You know I’d do anything for you, Tweek, so it’s really no problem.” Craig sat down in Tweek’s seat as he spoke, keeping his hands on top of Tweek’s desk as he continued to hold the smaller boy. “What is a problem, though,” he added after quickly glancing at the clock, “is that lunch is going to end soon, and we still have class. I could always say that you weren’t feeling well and went home early, but maybe I should--”

“Craig, Jesus, you are _not_ \-- _nngh_ \--skipping school because of me!” Tweek responded with a frown, already knowing exactly what Craig was going to suggest. “I, I can just… hide, o-or something, until the day is over. I’ll… I-I’ll be fine.”

Craig frowned. “Even if you hid, _where_ would you hide?” He moved the hand that Tweek wasn’t sitting on to reflexively toy with his chullo as his brows furrowed in thought, before pausing as an idea hit him. “What about under my hat? Think you’d be okay under my hat?”

Tweek looked nervous, so Craig added, “No one will be able to see you up there, you can hold onto my hair for balance, and the hat should muffle any noise too.”

“Well, I guess-- _nngh_ \--i-if it’s just until school is over….”

Craig nodded in satisfaction before adding, “And if for whatever reason you need to come out from under my hat, just tug on my hair or something and I’ll leave the classroom.”

Tweek seemed to relax a bit as Craig eased one of his many worries that he couldn’t bring himself to voice (even just the thought of trying to say something to Craig in class and someone else hearing him was nearly enough to give him another panic attack), and any remaining nervousness immediately melted away as he felt Craig’s finger gently running across the top of his head, though the nerves were instead replaced with embarrassment as he weakly tried to push Craig’s finger away.

“I’m fine, y-you don’t have to keep-- _nngh_ \--doing that, you know.”

“But I want to,” Craig replied, unable to help the light smirk that worked its way onto his face. “You’re soooo cute, I just can’t help myself.”

“ _Craig!!_ ” Tweek blushed and shoved Craig’s finger harder. “Jesus! You’re comparing me to Stripe again, a-aren’t you!”

“Guilty as charged, babe. How could I not when you’re so small and cute?”

“ _Gahh!!_ ” Tweek hit Craig’s finger in embarrassment, prompting a laugh from the larger boy that caused his blush to darken. “I am not _cute!!_ ”

“Whatever you say, honey.”

Craig smiled, continuing to run his finger along the top of Tweek’s head despite his embarrassed protests until the shrunken boy gave up and settled down, his bright red face and embarrassed expression contrasting with his relaxed posture as the repetitive motion continued to soothe whatever frazzled nerves were left in him.

When there were a few minutes left before lunch came to an end, Craig reluctantly moved his hand away from Tweek once more, taking a moment to enjoy the half-asleep expression that Tweek wore as he looked up at him (the thought of lulling his boyfriend to sleep just by petting his head was sweet enough to make his heart swell) before forcing himself to focus.

“Lunch is almost over,” he began, keeping his voice soft and his tone even in an attempt to avoid shattering Tweek’s calm demeanor, absentmindedly running his finger along the side of Tweek’s face and smiling as the blond leaned into his touch. “I’ve got to head to our next class, so I’m going to put you under my hat now, and I’ll take your stuff with me. Okay?”

Tweek looked reluctant to be moved now that he’d finally calmed down and gotten accustomed to being on Craig’s hand, but he nodded regardless, not wanting to waste time and make Craig have to rush to class. “O-okay.”

“Good. Just remember, tug on my hair if you need to come out for whatever reason.”

Tweek nodded once more before squeezing his eyes shut as Craig began lifting the hand that he was sitting on, forcing himself to keep his breathing even just like he constantly practiced with Craig until he felt himself being set down on what felt like a field of tall grass but was in actuality, as Tweek opened his eyes to find, Craig’s head with his hair surrounding him.

“You okay up there?” Craig asked, glancing up despite not being able to see Tweek and being careful to keep his head as steady as possible.

“Y-yeah, I-- _nngh_ \--I’m fine!” Tweek called back to him, hesitating nervously before lightly gripping some of Craig’s hair to keep himself steady. “You can-- _agh_ \--p-put your hat on and go to class now.”

Craig just barely stopped himself from reflexively nodding, instead responding with an “okay” before carefully putting his chullo back on. He waited to make absolutely sure that Tweek was alright (he felt the boy flinch and heard his muffled yelp from under the hat, but he seemed to relax after that so Craig could only hope that he was okay) before grabbing both Tweek’s bag and his own and heading out to their next class.

* * *

The first thing Craig did upon walking into the classroom holding Tweek’s bag was flip off anyone who looked at him--thankfully news of what happened in the science lab didn’t seem to have gotten around, but it was still an odd sight for Craig to be carrying Tweek’s bag with the blond nowhere to be found.

The only people who knew something was up were Cartman and his group, and the looks of worry on the group’s (or at least, on three out of four of the group’s) faces made Craig’s annoyance flare up even more, though he forced himself to stay calm by focusing on being conscious of his head’s movements so as not to jostle around the shrunken boy hiding under his hat.

_You know you’ve lived in South Park too long when you can just calmly accept crazy shit like this,_ he thought to himself wryly as he took his seat, leaving Tweek’s bag on the floor next to his own.

As soon as the teacher came in, she--as Craig had figured and Tweek had dreaded--immediately noticed Tweek’s absence and the blond’s bag by Craig’s desk.

“Tweek had to go home early. He wasn’t feeling well,” Craig lied calmly, ignoring the looks Cartman’s group shot him along with Clyde and Token’s curious glances. “He forgot his bag in our last class so I’m bringing it to him later.”

“What a sweet boyfriend you are, Craig!” was all the teacher had to say on the matter, and Craig resisted the urge to flip her off, figuring it was better to just let the matter drop as quickly as possible--if not because he didn’t want to deal with her asking questions, then because he was growing more annoyed by the gazes he could feel on him.

Thankfully, everything settled down after that as the class officially began, and within minutes it devolved into as normal of a class at their school ever was: namely, it was hectic, derailed every few seconds by stupid comments, and--most worryingly-- _loud_.

Normally the noise didn’t bother Craig, and honestly it still didn’t--it wasn't his own tolerance of the noise that he was worried about, but rather the tolerance of his boyfriend, who he could feel pressed against his head as if trying to hide and shaking so badly that it was starting to make Craig’s head itch.

After another few minutes of the shaking growing gradually worse, though the blond had yet to tug on his hair as they’d agreed, Craig decided to take matters into his own hands as he abruptly stood up and started walking to the door.

“Craig! Sit back down, we’re in the middle of class!”

Craig ignored the teacher and flipped her off, unable to help the brief smirk that tugged at the corner of his lips as he heard her offended gasp, but the expression quickly faded into annoyance as he caught Cartman’s words while he was leaving the room.

“I bet he’s just going to take a shit! Is that it, Craig? Going to take a big shit? Hey everyone, Craig’s going to go take a shit!”

Craig popped back into the classroom to flip Cartman off with both hands before leaving once more, ignoring anyone he walked past as he made his way out of the building and over to a quiet, secluded area that he would often take Tweek to whenever his boyfriend’s anxiety started acting up.

“Tweek, it’s just us right now. I’m taking my hat off, okay?”

Craig got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach when he received no response, and he debated what to do: abruptly taking his hat off would no doubt startle the already-terrified boy and possibly send him into a panic attack (provided he wasn’t already having one, which Craig _really_ hoped wasn’t the case, because he was already cursing himself for bringing Tweek with him to class when he knew something like this would happen), but at the same time he wouldn’t be able to help Tweek unless he knew Tweek was actually listening to him, and he couldn’t know that without hearing a response from the blond or physically being able to see him.

With a drawn-out sigh, Craig decided to try taking the middle road as he reached up to grab his chullo.

“Tweek, I’m taking my hat off now, alright?” he repeated, before slowly lifting the hat off his head, (hopefully) giving Tweek time to process what was happening.

Tweek flinched and pressed himself against Craig’s head as light began filtering into the darkness, his hands still covering his ears and his eyes squeezed shut. His breathing was ragged and irregular, his body shaking as his ears still rang from all the noise, all the loud voices blending together and overwhelming him until he couldn’t tell what was going on anymore or where he was or--

The blond jumped and let out a startled cry as he felt something touch him, reflexively scrambling away only to lose his balance and start tumbling backwards.

“Tweek!”

One minute, Tweek was falling, and the next he was cupped in a large pair of hands with a giant face staring down at him, and his panicked mind was in a frenzy trying to figure out what was going on.

“Tweek, it’s okay, you’re safe, I’ve got you.”

It wasn’t the gentle reassurances that calmed him so much as the familiar, quiet, monotonous voice that reached his ears, helping to ground him and piece together what was reality and what was just in his mind.

“C… Craig…?”

Craig looked relieved as he saw Tweek’s gaze begin to focus as his panicked breathing began settling into a more natural rhythm, and he gave his shrunken boyfriend a reassuring smile.

“Yeah, it’s me.”

He knew it would be pointless (not to mention counterproductive) to reprimand Tweek for not alerting him of the state he was in sooner, since he had a feeling that it was because of the state that Tweek was in that he hadn’t been coherent enough to remember to tug on his hair. Instead, Craig focused entirely on helping ease Tweek down from the panicked high he’d been in as he carefully shifted his hold so that Tweek was sitting on one of his hands, allowing him to reach out with his free hand to gently run his finger along the top of Tweek’s head.

Tweek was immediately grateful for Craig’s touches as he narrowed his focus to the repetitive motion, matching his breathing to the slow, even strokes until he could feel the fog around his mind lifting and the ringing fading from his ears. Even after he’d calmed down, Tweek couldn’t bring himself to tell Craig to stop, instead finding himself leaning into the careful touches with a soft noise as he indulged in this gentle side of his boyfriend that no one but he was privy to.

Craig watched Tweek with an affectionate smile, feeling both pleased and slightly awed that he of all people could bring Tweek down from a panic attack with just a few touches. He wasn’t exactly known to be the most gentle or compassionate person, but he supposed Tweek just had a way of bringing out that side of him, and he was grateful for it now more than ever.

He indulged Tweek for a little bit longer before trailing his finger down from the top of Tweek’s head to the side of his face, and a light blush colored his cheeks as he watched and felt Tweek nuzzle against his finger with a soft sigh.

“You feeling a bit better now, babe?” he asked quietly, his fond smile growing as Tweek nodded with an affirmative noise. “Good, I’m glad.”

Tweek looked up at Craig, the sight of his gentle expression soothing him just as much as his voice and touches were, though he quickly dropped his gaze guiltily as he belatedly began remembering everything that happened. “I’m sorry… a-about before, I mean. I, I was trying my best not t-- _nngh_ \--not to freak out, b-but….”

Craig’s smile died down into a concerned expression. “Was it the noise?”

Tweek flinched and nodded. “It… it was just so _loud_ , Jesus! Th-there were so many voices, an-- _agh!_ \--and my ears were r-ringin-- _nngh_ \--ringing a-and my head was spinning and I-I couldn’t think straight a-and--”

Craig gently shushed him as he resumed running his finger along the top of Tweek’s head, calming him before he could start panicking again. “It’s okay. I’m going to take you home now, alright?”

“B-but class--”

“Tweek, I’m not going back in there and letting you have another panic attack. Besides, class is pretty much over anyway, and I don’t feel like staying at school any longer than I have to.”

Tweek felt a pang of guilt gnawing away at him from the inside as he nodded and murmured an apology, feeling horrible for everything he’d been putting Craig through since the minute he found him like this (and for everything he would end up putting him through for the rest of the day since he knew Craig wouldn’t just drop him at home and leave, not to mention all the other times since they’d gotten together that Craig would deal with his anxiety and paranoia and--)

“Babe, calm down, it’s okay.”

Tweek hadn’t even realized he’d started panicking again until he felt and heard Craig trying to calm him down, and his guilt bubbled up once more.

“Tweek, I know what you’re thinking, but you really don’t have to feel guilty. I already told you, didn’t I? I’d do anything for you, and that’s by my own choice, not because I feel obligated to.”

Tweek let out a sigh and nodded--his guilt hadn’t fully gone away, but it had faded back to the normal amount of guilt that he felt on a daily basis for simply existing, so he figured that was the best he was going to get.

Sensing that Tweek had calmed down but noticing that his mood was still soured, Craig tried to think of something to make his boyfriend smile before an idea came to him.

Tweek barely had a moment to register the mischievous smile on the larger boy’s face before a giant finger started brushing against his sides, and the laughter slipped out against his will.

“ _Gah!_ C-Craig, what--”

Tweek’s question was cut off as more laughter slipped out, and he tried in vain to push Craig’s finger away, his actions only succeeding in making Craig’s impish smile widen as he continued tickling him.

“Say you’re glad I’m leaving school early or I won’t stop.”

“F-fi-- _gah!_ \--fine!! I-I’mgladyoureleavingschoolearly!!”

Tweek just barely managed to get the statement out in the one breath he had left in him in between laughs, but Craig seemed to be satisfied with that as he moved his finger away from Tweek’s side and instead patted his boyfriend on the head.

“Jesus…. You, Craig Tucker, are an ass, y-you know that?” Tweek grumbled as soon as he caught his breath, though his flushed face and lingering smile belied his annoyed tone.

“Yeah, but you love this ass,” Craig retorted with a grin that grew as Tweek blushed and hit his finger in embarrassment. His expression sobered a bit as he added, “Seriously though, are you feeling a bit better now?”

Tweek let out a breath before giving Craig a smile. “Yeah, thanks. I… I guess I needed that.”

Craig nodded in satisfaction, and was about to offer to find a different place to hide Tweek so they could go home when he noticed the color drain from Tweek’s face, the shrunken boy’s smile fading into a look of fear as he looked at something past Craig.

He was about to ask Tweek what was wrong, but he got his answer as he heard the sound of something hitting the floor, and he turned around slightly to find Cartman’s group staring at Tweek with open-mouthed expressions of surprise, Tweek’s bag sitting on the floor by Kyle’s feet.

The area was silent for a good minute or so before someone finally spoke.

“Dude, what the _fuck?_ ”

* * *

As soon as Craig had entered the classroom, Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny all knew that something wasn’t right.

He’d gone back to his normal impassive expression, which stood as a stark contrast to the irritated expression that they’d last seen on him before wisely retreating (or in Cartman’s case, before being dragged off), which could mean only one thing: Craig had found Tweek.

Except the blond was nowhere to be seen.

The fact that Craig came in with Tweek’s bag and gave the teacher a half-assed excuse in his usual monotone just further threw the group off as they tried to figure out what the hell was going on and why Craig was suddenly not worried about Tweek’s whereabouts.

“Dude, something is definitely up,” Stan whispered to Kyle, who nodded in agreement.

“You don’t think Tweek seriously got sick and went home, do you? I mean, whatever the fatass made really _could_ have made someone sick,” Kyle pointed out.

“Ey!” Cartman hissed, only just barely keeping his voice down. “First of all, I already told you that that potion was going to give me superpowers, so fuck off. Second of all, we _saw_ Tweek disappear with _my_ superpowers, so how the hell could he have gone home?”

Stan frowned. “Cartman’s right. Not about the superpower thing, of course, because that’s just stupid--”

“ _Ey!!_ ”

“--but we _did_ see Tweek disappear…. Maybe we thought he disappeared and he just ran off somewhere while we were distracted?”

“It’s possible….” Kyle’s brows furrowed in thought.

“Oh come on! Why is it so weird that he might have gotten superpowers!”

By now, Cartman had given up on using an indoor voice (as he always did), though it hardly mattered as the rest of the class had already devolved into their own conversations as the teacher tried and failed to get the class to quiet down.

As an argument broke out between Cartman and Kyle over whether or not it was impossible for Tweek to have gotten superpowers, the group very nearly missed Craig abruptly standing up and heading for the door without even grabbing his or Tweek’s bag. It was only when Kenny got the rest of the group’s attention and pointed to the door that they stopped their conversation and turned their attention over to Craig, who flipped the teacher off before walking out the door.

Cartman laughed at the teacher’s offended expression as he exclaimed, “I bet he’s just going to take a shit! Is that it, Craig? Going to take a big shit? Hey everyone, Craig’s going to go take a shit!”

Craig returning just to flip Cartman off with both hands made a good portion of the class laugh (except Cartman, who flipped him off in return and yelled “Well fuck you too, Craig!”), but Stan and Kyle exchanged knowing glances, their thoughts along the same lines as they recalled how tense Craig looked before he left the room.

“Think we should go after him?” Kyle asked Stan, but before either of the boys could so much as stand up the teacher locked the door with an irritated expression and forced the class to quiet down.

“As soon as class ends, we’ll take Craig and Tweek’s bags and we’ll find Craig. I don’t know if he’d leave his own stuff, but I doubt he’d leave school without Tweek’s bag--Tweek would probably be too paranoid about his stuff getting stolen,” Stan spoke quietly, and received two nods from Kyle and Kenny in response, along with some annoyed grumbling from Cartman about stolen superpowers and asshole gay people.

The group stood up as soon as the bell rang and the teacher let them leave the room, Stan grabbing Craig’s bag on his way out and Kyle taking Tweek’s. It was only when the group was standing outside the classroom, however, that it occurred to them that they had no idea where on the school grounds Craig could possibly be.

“Anyone have any ideas?” Stan asked.

Kyle frowned. “Maybe he went back to the science lab?”

Kenny shook his head and started off in another direction, gesturing for the group to follow him. Kyle and Stan glanced at each other before shrugging and following Kenny, along with a bored-looking Cartman.

“Kenny, how do you know where Craig is?”

Kenny glanced back at Kyle, his voice muffled through the hood of his parka as he responded, “I don’t, but I’ve seen him take Tweek behind the school to calm him down sometimes.”

“Well, that’s as good a lead as any.”

The boys left the school building and made their way around the back, and were surprised to find that Craig was indeed where Kenny had assumed he’d be--but that surprise was nothing compared to the surprise they felt as they saw what (or _who_ , rather) was sitting on Craig’s hand.

The sound of Tweek’s bag sliding out of Kyle’s hand and hitting the floor was louder than normal in the silence surrounding the six boys, yet no one could bring themselves to say a word as the situation slowly sunk in: for Cartman’s group, the mystery of Tweek’s disappearance had been solved in an unsuspected way, and for Craig and Tweek, they had been caught unawares by the group of people that they least wanted to find out about Tweek’s situation.

They all stared at each other for what felt like forever (but was really no more than a minute), before Cartman finally broke the silence.

“Dude, what the _fuck?_ ”

* * *

Craig was the first to snap out of it once Cartman broke the silence, and he was quick to cup his hands around Tweek protectively as he glared at the group.

Cartman, completely unaffected by Craig’s irritated look, approached the couple with an annoyed expression of his own. “So Tweek _did_ get my superpowers! Hah! See Kyle! I _told_ you!”

“Shut _up_ , fatass,” Craig hissed, taking a step back to try and put a bit of distance between them. He could feel Tweek shaking in his hands, and his anger grew--he’d finally managed to calm Tweek down again, only for these idiots to show up and ruin everything, as if they hadn’t already done enough damage.

“Cartman, lay off, would you? He obviously didn’t get superpowers, otherwise he would have turned himself back to normal by now,” Stan pointed out. “Whatever happened to him, it could be serious.”

“Oh please.” Cartman rolled his eyes. “Obviously this is all Kyle’s fault.”

“ _My_ fault? What the hell did _I_ do?”

“Well, _my_ superhero potion was perfectly fine before _you_ touched it, so obviously _your_ Jew hands were what ruined it and made this happen.”

“That makes no sense!”

“Nuh-uh, it totally makes sense!”

“Does not!”

“Does too!”

“ _Does not!_ ”

“ _Does too!_ ”

Cartman and Kyle’s rising argument was cut short by Kenny and Stan’s hands covering their mouths to silence them, and the two arguing boys turned their attention away from each other and over to the respective boys next to them to ask what the hell was going on only to see Kenny and Stan wordlessly gesturing to Craig and Tweek.

Tweek was sitting curled up on Craig’s hand with his hands covering his ears and his body trembling, and Craig’s middle finger and thumb were gently resting on top of Tweek’s hands in an attempt to help muffle the noise while he ran his pointer finger over the top of Tweek’s head to try and calm him down. Craig shot the group a glare when he felt them looking at him, his expression silently promising payback for the hell that Tweek was no doubt going through, and Kyle couldn’t help but wince guiltily in response.

Stan moved his hand off of Kyle’s mouth when he saw that his friend had quieted down, before glancing over at Cartman with a disapproving frown when the larger boy pried Kenny’s hand off of him and glared back at Craig.

“What the hell is everyone’s problem? Tweek should be happy to have gotten the superpowers that I was supposed to have gotten!”

Stan, Kyle, and Kenny all exchanged glances and wisely took a step back as they saw something in Craig’s expression snap, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire of whatever was about to happen.

Craig narrowed his eyes as he took a step forward, the cold expression on his face contrasting with his gentle hold on Tweek as he spoke quietly. “ _Happy?_ He should be _happy?_ ” Not giving Cartman a chance to say anything, Craig continued to speak. “Has there ever been a point in your life where you stopped to think about anyone but yourself and your own feelings? No, there hasn’t. All you do is go through life doing whatever the hell you want, not thinking about any sort of consequences or about the people that you’re unwillingly dragging along for the ride. Do you think I was _happy_ getting arrested and dragged to Peru, not only losing out on my birthday money but being forced into some sort of ancient prophecy that made lasers shoot out of my eyes? Do you think Tweek was _happy_ when he got dragged along to George Lucas’s house to steal a movie reel and had to go rushing off to the desert by himself with a goddamn bazooka just to save you guys? Do you think anyone is ever _happy_ when they get involved in your crazy shit?” Cartman had the nerve to open his mouth, but quickly closed it as Craig glared at him. “No, they aren’t. So tell me, how the hell is Tweek supposed to be _happy_ that he was dragged into yet another mess of yours? How the hell can he be _happy_ when his anxiety has skyrocketed and he can’t even stand to be around people because everything is too big and too loud for him to handle?”

A moment of silence passed as Craig stopped speaking, his fingers still covering Tweek’s ears to keep him from freaking out over Craig losing his cool, before Cartman opened his mouth and dug his own grave.

“Well _I_ would be happy to get superpowers. You’re being a total dick about all this, Craig, you know that?”

“... _I’m_ being a dick. You shrunk my boyfriend and made him have a panic attack, and _I’m_ being a dick.”

Cartman didn’t have the chance to respond: before he could even open his mouth, Craig had moved his hand off of Tweek’s ears and clenched it into a fist, and Tweek grimaced and squeezed his eyes shut as Craig swung his arm out to punch Cartman in the face.

Stan, Kyle, and Kenny winced in unison at the sound of Craig’s fist hitting Cartman’s nose, watching as the larger boy gripped his bleeding nose with a pained shout.

“What the fuck, Craig?! You broke my fucking nose!”

Craig smirked in vindictive satisfaction as he flipped Cartman off. “You’re just lucky that’s the only thing I broke.”

Cartman turned to his friends with tears in his eyes upon getting absolutely no sympathy or remorse from Craig. “Guyyyyys, Craig broke my nooooose! Staaaaan! Kyeeeeeel! Keeennyyyy! It huuuuurts!”

“Sorry fatass, you had it coming,” Kyle responded with an annoyed expression.

Stan frowned. “Yeah Cartman, that was pretty fucked up.”

Kenny nodded and offered a muffled agreement.

Cartman scowled. “Screw you guys! I’m going home!!”

With that, the larger boy stormed off while clutching his bleeding nose, leaving no buffer between whatever was left of Craig’s wrath and the three other boys in Cartman’s group.

Kyle grimaced before reluctantly stepping forward. “... Look, Craig… no.” He paused for a moment before turning his attention to the shrunken boy sitting on Craig’s hand. “I do need to apologize to Craig too, but… Tweek--”

Tweek jumped and let out a startled noise as he was directly addressed combined with Kyle crouching to look directly at him, and Craig glared at Kyle warningly, who put his hands up in a gesture of peace before continuing to speak in a quiet voice so as not to further startle Tweek.

“Tweek, I’m sorry. Craig was absolutely right, we weren’t thinking about consequences or other people getting dragged into another one of our messes. I was so focused on getting Cartman to stop acting stupid that I didn’t think about the possibility of someone else getting hit with whatever was in that beaker, and I didn’t think that what was in that beaker would end up shrinking you. I know an apology won’t really fix what happened, but….”

Tweek still hadn’t stopped shaking, but he still managed to force his voice to work for long enough to respond to Kyle’s genuine apology. “It’s-- _nngh_ \--it’s okay. I-I… I know y-- _gah!_ \--you didn’t mean for this to happen. I-it-- _nngh_ \--it’s mainly Cartman I’m annoyed with, not you, a-and Craig already-- _agh_ \--a-already said and did everything I would have wan-- _nngh_ \--wanted to do to him anyway.”

Craig’s expression relaxed back into his usual neutral look as Tweek forgave Kyle, unwilling to keep harboring any hostility when his boyfriend--whose opinion mattered most, since he was the one directly affected by all of this--had it in his heart to accept Kyle’s apology. In turn, the tension eased out of Kyle’s frame as he gave Tweek a grateful smile.

“If there’s anything at all that I can do to help you two, just let me know.”

Stan stepped up next to Kyle. “Yeah, same goes for me. Just say the word and we’ll do whatever we can to help you guys.”

Kenny nodded in agreement, before his expression shifted to confusion as he asked, “Where were you hiding Tweek during class, anyway?”

A surprised expression briefly flickered across Craig’s face, and Tweek flinched, his eyes wide with panic.

“ _GAH!_ H-how did you know I was hiding? Jesus Christ, did you know this whole time? Oh Jesus, oh God, wh-what if other people realized--!!”

“I didn’t know until now, I promise,” Kenny said quickly, his muffled voice thankfully putting less of a strain on Tweek’s sensitive hearing as he tried to focus on his reassurances. “I just thought it was the obvious conclusion after seeing you like this, but if I didn’t know what happened to you there’s no way I could’ve known you were hiding that whole time.”

Craig frowned. “He was hiding under my hat. I wanted to keep him as close to me as I could, just in case something happened.”

“And I’m guessing something happened when you got up and left the room?” Stan asked, and Tweek squirmed and shrunk back against Craig’s hand in a mixture of nervousness and embarrassment as three sets of eyes looked at him in a mixture of worry and sympathy.

“I-it was the n-- _nngh_ \--noise,” Tweek spoke up tentatively, knowing that Craig could and would do all the talking for him but wanting to prove (if only to himself) that he was perfectly capable of holding a conversation with other people even while stuck like this. “Everything’s a lot louder, a-and there were a lot of people talkin-- _nngh_ \--talking over one another, s-so….”

“So you got overwhelmed by all the noise, and Craig brought you out here to calm down,” Kyle finished, his expression falling in guilt as he added, “and then we showed up and freaked you out again. Shit, dude, I’m so sorry, now I feel like an even bigger ass.”

“Yeah, me too, I had no idea….” Stan grimaced. “If we would’ve known, we would’ve just dropped your bags off at Tweek’s place without bothering you guys.”

Tweek quickly waved his hands, as if trying to physically wave off their guilt. “ _GAH!_ Jesus, no! No, i-it’s not your fault at all! You couldn-- _nngh_ \--couldn’t have known! A-and besides, it would’ve looked weird if you brought our bags to my place without us.”

“Can’t you hide him in your jacket?” At the abrupt question, all eyes turned to Kenny in confusion, who continued speaking (while subsequently taking the attention off of Tweek, who let out a relieved sigh in response--he wasn’t sure if Kenny shifted the attention to himself on purpose or not, but he appreciated it all the same). “Hiding him under your hat keeps him close, but it’s more conspicuous if you need to check on him, right? But if he’s in your jacket, you just have to glance down and pretend you’re fixing your jacket or something to make sure he’s alright.”

“That’s… not a bad idea, except I don’t have pockets on the inside of my jacket,” Craig responded with a frown.

Kenny smiled behind the hood of his parka. “Just leave that to me.”

* * *

Craig frowned, keeping his head as still as possible as he followed Kenny alongside Stan and Kyle. After carefully putting Tweek back under his chullo and taking his bag back (Kyle had insisted that he didn’t mind carrying Tweek’s bag for him), Kenny snuck the group past the hall monitors and into the (thankfully unoccupied) home economics room.

Stan made sure to close the door behind the group as Kenny went to gather everything he’d need, and Kyle set Tweek’s bag down by the table before turning his attention to Craig with a frown as he watched him carefully lift his hat up.

“Here, let me help Tweek down so he doesn’t fall.”

Craig shot Kyle a look, and Kyle gave him a reassuring smile. “I’ll be careful, I promise.”

Aside from a nervous yelp and his form being even more tense than usual, Tweek managed to stay relatively calm as he climbed on Kyle’s hand and let him lift him down to the table, though he didn’t fully relax until he felt Craig’s hand hovering behind him and one of his fingers gently running down his arm.

“I-I’m fine, Craig, I promise,” he reassured his boyfriend with a smile as he put a hand on top of Craig’s finger.

Kenny approached the table with his arms filled with the materials and sewing equipment that he’d need, and he set everything down before moving over to Tweek with a measuring tape in hand.

“Sorry, I just need to measure you for one second, hold still.”

Tweek stayed stiff as a board as the measuring tape stretched up from his feet to the top of his head, and he watched as Kenny nodded to himself before moving over to the dark blue fabric and beginning to cut into it.

“Since when does he know how to do all this stuff, anyway?” Craig commented after a moment of watching Kenny, taking note of his focused expression with a hint of curiosity.

“Kenny took Home EC while we all took Woodshop, remember?” Stan replied, to which Craig shrugged as if to say “ _how should I remember?_ ”

Kenny spoke without looking up from his work as he added, “I patch stuff up for my little sister all the time. It’s cheaper than buying new stuff, anyway.”

Craig hummed slightly in acknowledgement, thinking about his own sister and wondering if she’d flip him off if he ever offered to try and fix anything of her’s.

(She probably would, so he could only assume that Kenny and his younger sister had a much more pleasant relationship.)

Tweek leaned against Craig’s hand, peeking over his boyfriend’s fingers as he watched Kenny work with a mixture of curiosity and envy. Any time he tried doing anything requiring the use of a sharp object, his jittery hands always resulted in him cutting or stabbing himself by accident, but Kenny’s hands seemed to be completely relaxed despite the potential dangers as he finished cutting and preparing the fabric before starting to sew the pocket onto the inside of Craig’s jacket.

Craig, meanwhile, was more interested in watching Tweek adorably resting his chin on top of his finger as his two tiny hands gripped him loosely. He wasn’t even sure that Tweek himself was aware that he was holding onto him despite being in no danger of falling or losing his balance as he stood on the table, and could only assume that his shrunken boyfriend was doing it out of a subconscious desire to be close to Craig, which just added one more reason to the ever-growing list of silly little reasons why Craig Tucker was completely and utterly enamored with Tweek Tweak.

It was only when Craig felt two pairs of eyes on him that he remembered that he and Tweek weren’t alone in the room, and his face flushed as he glanced up to see Stan and Kyle staring at him in a mixture of surprise and amusement. He glared and flipped them both off with his free hand, wordlessly daring them to say anything about his behavior, but surprisingly (and thankfully) the pair held their tongues and instead turn their attention away from him and to each other, the low murmur of their voices in hushed conversation serving as background noise as Kenny continued to work and Craig continued to observe his adorable boyfriend watching Kenny sew.

As soon as Kenny finished, he straightened up with a smile, holding up Craig’s jacket to admire his handiwork. Craig had to admit, the pocket didn’t look out of place at all--the color matched the inside of his jacket almost perfectly, and the stitching wasn’t sloppily done or overly noticeable.

“Not bad, McCormick,” Craig remarked, and Kenny didn’t seem to be bothered by his usual monotone as his smile widened with obvious pride from the compliment.

“Now we just have to give it a test run.” Kenny turned his gaze down to Tweek, who stiffened and yelped reflexively before relaxing as Craig’s fingers lightly curled around him. “I’ll hold the jacket up. Craig, just slip him in, and Tweek, you tell me how it feels--if it’s too cramped, if the stitching feels too loose, anything.”

“O-okay.” Tweek nodded in understanding before looking up at Craig, who gave him a reassuring smile before gently picking him up and carefully slipping him into the newly-made jacket pocket.

Craig’s hand hovered near the pocket nervously, ready to take Tweek out if he started feeling claustrophobic or catch him if the stitching gave out beneath him, but thankfully after a few seconds Tweek popped his head back out of the pocket with a smile.

“I-it’s great, you-- _nngh_ \--did a really good job, Kenny. Th-thank you.”

Kenny’s smile softened in obvious relief. “No problem, dude. Glad I could help.”

Unwilling to risk jostling Tweek around too much, Craig helped him back out of the pocket and onto the table before taking his jacket back from Kenny. Once his jacket was back on and his bag was on his back, Craig reached down and gently picked Tweek back up so he could slip him back into his pocket, keeping his gaze on him worriedly the whole time.

“Are you sure you’ll be alright in there? You’re not too hot, are you? Too cramped? Is it too dark?”

Craig cut off his string of concerned questions at the sound of Tweek’s soft laughter, feeling as if his heart was physically melting in his chest as Tweek smiled up at him.

“I’m fine, Craig. Thank you.”

Hearing Tweek speak without any nervous tics instantly washed away any of his lingering doubts or worries--if Tweek was calm enough not to stutter, then he really was telling the truth about being fine.

Craig finally turned his attention back over to Stan’s group, who were trying and failing spectacularly at looking like they weren’t watching him that entire time, but his mood had been lifted by Tweek’s laughter and lack of stuttering to the point where he didn’t even feel like flipping them off for staring.

Kyle picked Tweek’s bag back up and passed it to Craig so he wouldn’t have to bend over to pick it up, and Craig let a brief, grateful smile flit across his face before his expression returned to normal.

“... You guys aren’t total assholes, I guess,” Craig said after a moment, and that was the closest he was going to come to thanking them. “And if you say anything about what happened to Tweek to anyone, I swear--”

“We won’t, we promise,” Stan quickly assured him.

“Yeah, we’ll make sure the fatass doesn’t say anything either,” Kyle added. “You just focus on taking care of Tweek until… whatever that shit was wears off, and if you need anything just give us a call.”

Craig doubted he’d take them up on that offer, but it was admittedly nice of them to make--at the very least, it showed that the majority of the group of annoyances were finally owning up to the shit they caused.

He gave a noncommittal noise in response, habitually flipping them off (though with no actual malice behind the action) as he strolled out of the room so he could start making his way out of the school and over to Tweek’s house.

* * *

Tweek had been worried when Craig started walking that he’d be jostled around by the movement, or that he’d start feeling claustrophobic and trapped as time went on, yet surprisingly he felt calmer and more comfortable than he could ever remember feeling. Being inside Craig’s jacket was warm but not overly so, with the added bonus of Craig’s smell permeating his senses (something that was embarrassingly comforting and familiar). He also had a feeling that Kenny had purposely chosen to sew the pocket in the exact spot that pressed over Craig’s heart, and was infinitely grateful for it as he curled up against Craig’s chest and listened to the soothing, rhythmic sound with a soft smile.

Never had he felt more lucky to have such a kind, sweet, caring, amazing boyfriend as Craig: no matter how bad his anxiety got, Craig always found a way to calm him down, whether it was through his words or his actions or simply his reassuring presence. Craig was always so _calm_ , so cool and collected to the point of coming off as cold and apathetic to most people--but Tweek knew him so much better than that, and he knew that Craig could be very expressive in his own way. Little smiles here and there; quiet laughs; the look Craig would get in his eyes whenever he looked at him, as if Tweek was the most incredible person in the world and as if _he_ were the lucky one in their odd yet wonderful relationship….

Tweek blushed and made a soft noise as he pressed his face closer to Craig’s chest, feeling almost overwhelmed with affection for his boyfriend, especially as he felt a hand gently pressing against his back from outside the jacket.

_Craig, I love you so much, thank you so much for being with me…._

Tweek glanced up at Craig as he felt his gaze on him, his concerned expression making his heart swell even more, and he gave his boyfriend a smile that widened as he saw Craig’s expression shift from concern to relief with the slightest hint of a blush.

(Craig was always so adorable when he blushed… Tweek would gladly embarrass himself a thousand times over just to see his boyfriend’s silly, lovestruck grin and flushed face.)

Tweek wished that he could just stay like this forever, curled up inside Craig’s jacket and pressed against Craig’s chest, the steady beating of his heart keeping him calm and making him feel so warm and safe and loved--but unfortunately, Craig eventually arrived at his house, gently stirring him from the sleep that he hadn’t even realized he’d slipped into.

Craig had stood outside Tweek’s house for a good ten minutes, simply watching in awe as his shrunken boyfriend slept soundly against his chest with the most peaceful expression he’d ever seen him wear, and part of him was tempted to just take Tweek to his own house so he wouldn’t have to speak to any adults and could just let Tweek get some much-needed sleep--but no, he knew that Tweek would flip out if he woke up and found out that his parents didn’t know where he was, plus Craig’s family could be a bit loud at times and the last thing he wanted was for his boyfriend to be jarred out of his peaceful sleep by yelling.

No, the best thing to do--unfortunately--was to wake Tweek up himself.

Gently, more gently than he ever would have thought he was capable of being with another person before Tweek came into his life, Craig opened his jacket and slipped his hand inside to softly run his finger over Tweek’s hair.

“Tweek… Tweek, honey, wake up,” he spoke quietly, smiling as Tweek made a soft noise and nuzzled against his finger, obviously still half-asleep. “If you want to sleep some more then you can go back to sleep after we talk to your parents, okay babe?”

At the mention of his parents, Tweek’s eyes cracked open, but between the warmth of Craig’s jacket and the gentle feeling of his finger running along the top of his head, he was too relaxed to feel nervous at the thought of having to speak with his parents.

Craig was with him, anyway, so why bother being worried?

(He wished he could think like this all the time, _god_ how he wished his mind could be this calm all the time, but sadly he knew that as soon as he left the warmth and safety of Craig’s jacket--this little bubble where nothing could touch him and where everything surrounding him was Craig, Craig, and nothing but Craig--he’d be back to his normal, anxious self again.)

Craig seemed to sense his change in mood and gave him a soft, reassuring smile. “It’s okay, babe. I’ll be with you the whole time, and I’ll stay with you the whole night.”

The thought of Craig staying the night with him and helping him reach that same blissful level of sleep that he’d just been in made Tweek’s heart swell once more, and he put a hand on Craig’s finger as he gave him a smile. “Okay. Let’s go.”

Craig gave Tweek’s head one last, gentle pat before reluctantly pulling his hand out of his jacket and buttoning it back up. With his normal, impassive expression back on his face, Craig reached out and rang the doorbell, waiting for a few seconds before the door swung open to reveal Tweek’s father.

“Why Craig, come on in. Is Tweek with you? He hasn’t gotten home yet.”

“That’s what I came here to speak with you about, sir,” Craig responded as he entered the house, deciding to get straight to the point. “Is Mrs. Tweak around? She should hear this as well.”

Richard’s expression immediately fell in concern. “Did something happen to Tweek? Is he alright?”

“He’s alright, sir.”

Unlike Tweek, it was difficult for Richard to hear anything but a bored monotone from Craig, which made it all the more difficult to gauge just how serious whatever he needed to speak with them about was. Still, the fact that he was Tweek’s boyfriend counted for a lot, and so Richard decided to trust for the moment that Craig was being truthful with him and that--at the very least--it wasn’t a life-or-death matter.

Richard led Craig into the kitchen before taking a seat next to his wife, who held a cup of coffee in her hands and gave Craig a smile when he entered the room.

“Hello, Craig. Is Tweek with you?”

“He is, as a matter of fact. It’s why I needed to talk to you both.” Craig leveled both adults with an even stare, watching as Tweek’s parents glanced at each other before looking back at him with obvious confusion.

“Craig… I don’t understand. Why do you have Tweek’s bag, and where is he if you say he’s with you?” Richard asked.

“I’ll show you, but you two need to promise not to freak out, and you have to keep your voices down. Okay?”

Again, Tweek’s parents shared a confused and slightly wary glance before turning their attention back to Craig.

“Of course, now what exactly is it that you’re showing us?”

Craig set Tweek’s bag down on the floor before unbuttoning his jacket and carefully reaching inside, watching Tweek to make sure that he didn’t panic as he was lifted out of Craig’s jacket and set down on the kitchen table in front of his parents.

Tweek nervously stared up at his parents, his gaze shooting back and forth between the two of them as his body began trembling once more. The only reason he didn’t try and rush back to the safety of Craig’s jacket was that he wouldn’t be able to reach it by himself even if he tried, but thankfully Craig kept one of his hands behind Tweek for physical and mental support, staving off a potential panic attack and allowing him to relax the slightest bit.

“Um… _nngh_. H-hi mom. Hi dad.”

“... Tweek…?” Tweek’s mother was the first to break the silence between the two parents, both of which had gone wide-eyed in shock as they stared down at the miniature version of their son standing on the kitchen table.

“Y-yeah, it’s me. L-look, I-- _nngh_ \--I-I can explain: th-there was an accident in the science lab, an-- _nngh_ \--a-and I got splashed with some chemicals a-and… and I ended up like this.”

“But are you okay, son?” Richard asked, eyeing Tweek worriedly. “Are you hurt?”

Tweek smiled shakily, inwardly relieved that his parents weren’t completely flipping out. “I-I’m not hurt, I’m okay.”

Sensing a lull in the conversation, Craig added, “I’m going to stay with him all night to make sure nothing happens to him.”

While Tweek felt relieved to hear this reconfirmation of what he already knew, Tweek’s parents seemed the slightest bit hesitant.

“Craig, we appreciate the thought, but we can take over looking after him. Your parents must be worried, you should start heading home--”

Craig swiftly yet carefully scooped Tweek up into his hands. “It wasn’t a thought, or a request. I’m staying to make sure nothing happens to him.”

Tweek was already on the verge of a panic attack just from the thought of his parents not allowing Craig to stay with him for the night, and he looked up at them pleadingly as he spoke. “Please, I-I need Craig to-- _nngh_ \--stay with me, please let him stay!”

Tweek’s parents glanced at each other hesitantly before letting out a sigh. “Just be sure to call your parents before bed to let them know where you are,” Richard warned Craig, who nodded in response.

“I will. Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Tweak.”

Tweek would have collapsed in relief if he wasn’t already sitting in Craig’s cupped hands. “Th-thank you.”

“Alright, now you two boys run along and get started on your homework, and we’ll call you down when dinner is ready.”

Tweek resisted the urge to groan at the thought of trying to do homework when he wasn’t even big enough to hold a pencil on his own, already feeling the pressure of giant sheets of unanswered questions setting in, but he relaxed as he felt a finger gently rubbing his arm. Craig wasn’t even looking at him, yet he somehow still could tell that Tweek’s anxiety was beginning to act up, and Tweek felt a wave of gratitude washing over him for the umpteenth time.

And to think, his parents had wanted Craig to go home and leave Tweek here--there was no way that Tweek would be able to get through five minutes like this without Craig by his side, let alone an entire night.

“Actually, I think it would be better for me and Tweek to eat dinner in Tweek’s room. He’ll feel less anxious with less people around to watch him eat,” Craig responded, before adding as an afterthought, “If you don’t mind, ma’am.”

Tweek’s mother smiled. “That’s very considerate of you, Craig. Normally I don’t like Tweek bringing food into his room, but I’ll allow it just this once, as long as you promise not to make a mess.”

“Thank you, ma’am. I promise.”

“I’ll bring up some food for you two once dinner is ready. Now go on, go start on your homework before it gets too late.”

Craig nodded and carefully shifted Tweek so he was sitting on one hand, freeing up his other hand so he could grab Tweek’s bag off the floor and carry it up to Tweek’s room with him. Once Craig arrived in Tweek’s bedroom (it was funny how natural it felt, walking through Tweek’s house as if it were his own), he closed the door behind him with his foot and set Tweek’s bag down next to his desk before carefully lowering his boyfriend onto the desk. After freeing up his hands, Craig slid his bag off his back and carelessly dropped it next to Tweek’s before plopping himself down onto Tweek’s computer chair and stretching a bit with a sigh. He quickly fished his phone out of his jacket and dialed his house number, leaving a message on the answering machine to let his parents know that he was sleeping over Tweek’s house before hanging up and putting his phone away so he could devote all of his attention to his shrunken boyfriend.

Tweek stood awkwardly on top of his desk as he stared up at Craig the whole time, unwilling to look around his room for fear of going into another panic attack over how unfamiliar his own room and his own house felt. Everything was so huge that it was barely even recognizable, and everything felt like it could hurt him, and--

“Tweek, babe, are you alright?”

Tweek should have been freaked out when a giant hand reached down towards him--he had been, back when Craig first found him like this--but now all he could feel was relief as he eagerly pressed himself against the hand that curled around him protectively, taking a moment to steady his breathing before nodding with his face still buried against Craig’s palm. He blushed and let out a soft sigh as he felt one finger rubbing his back and another petting his head, feeling the tension melting out of his body under his boyfriend’s gentle touches, and he didn’t even realize that his legs gave out from under him until he felt himself being shifted so he was laying down on Craig’s hand.

“Honey, why don’t you take a nap?” Craig suggested softly, smiling as Tweek looked up at him dazedly.

“But… our homework….”

Craig laughed. “Only you would worry about something so normal in a situation like this. We can just make up the homework another day, don’t worry.” He continued gently petting Tweek’s hair, his heart swelling as he watched Tweek lean into his touches with a soft noise.

_Soooo cute…._

Tweek felt like he was floating, drifting in a comfortable state between consciousness and sleep that he was rarely ever relaxed enough to experience. He unconsciously curled up on Craig’s palm with a soft smile, Craig’s gentle touches combined with his warmth doing more for him than any prescribed anxiety medication ever did.

Craig only stopped petting Tweek’s hair for long enough to sneak a quiet picture of him on his phone, wanting to preserve this moment of absolute adorableness for all eternity, but was quick to resume his actions as he heard Tweek let out a quiet whimper.

“Shh, shh, I’m right here babe,” Craig crooned softly, a stupid, lovestruck grin spreading across his face as Tweek immediately smiled and sighed out Craig’s name before relaxing once more.

At one point in his life, Craig might have thought watching someone sleep would be the most boring thing in the world, but now he felt as if he could watch Tweek’s peaceful expression and the soft rise and fall of his chest for hours, the sight filling him with so much love and joy that he worried his heart might physically burst out of his chest. Tweek, who was terrified of everything on a normal day let alone when he was shrunken, trusted Craig enough to literally put his life in his hands, and a day would never go by where Craig wasn’t honored (and flattered) that an asshole like him could be such a huge source of comfort to someone.

It was only when there was a soft knock at the door that Craig reluctantly decided to wake Tweek up, telling Mrs. Tweak to come in as he gently shook Tweek’s shoulder.

“Tweek, babe, wake up, it’s time for dinner,” he said softly, smiling when Tweek’s eyes slowly opened.

“Mmph… Craig…?” Tweek rubbed his eyes and sat up with a yawn, jumping slightly when he saw his mother enter the room before relaxing.

“There’s more food downstairs if you boys are still hungry,” Mrs. Tweak said with a smile as she set a plate down on Tweek’s desk along with a cup of Craig’s favorite soda and, to both boys’ surprise, a tiny thimble filled with coffee.

Craig and Tweek both thanked Mrs. Tweak, who smiled and quietly shut the door behind her as she left the room.

Tweek eagerly grabbed for the thimble as soon as Craig passed it to him, letting out a pleased sigh as the taste of coffee hit his tongue, before his expression shifted to embarrassment as Craig laughed.

“Shut up, you know I-- _nngh_ \--need my coffee,” Tweek grumbled, his face flushed as he took another sip.

“I know, I know,” Craig replied with an amused smile. “You need to eat too, though. We haven’t eaten anything all day.”

At the reminder, Tweek’s body finally remembered that he really hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast that morning (which felt like an eternity ago), and his embarrassed blush darkened as his stomach growled loudly.

“Okay, yeah, food sounds great.”

Tweek went to stand up so he could move off of Craig’s hand, his expression shifting to confusion as Craig gently pushed him back down. “Craig?”

“You feel more relaxed when you’re sitting on my hand, right? So you can stay there while you eat,” Craig explained, and Tweek blushed heavily in response.

“But--”

“I can eat with my other hand, it’s fine,” Craig answered his concern before Tweek could even vocalize it, and Tweek couldn’t help but smile in response.

“... Okay, if you’re sure. Thank you, Craig.”

Craig returned Tweek’s smile with one of his own before carefully passing him some food to eat. Though it was a bit messy to have to eat with his hands, thankfully he was able to get through the meal without any mishaps, and after the equivalent of a few small bites of food Tweek felt full and content.

“Are you sure you’re full? Do you want anything else?” Craig asked as he held out the corner of his napkin for Tweek to use, watching as his shrunken boyfriend wiped his hands and mouth. “More coffee, maybe?”

“ _Nngh_ , in a bit. Right now I’m stuffed.” Tweek leaned back with a content sigh before reluctantly straightening up. “I can move so you can finish eating, I really don’t mind.”

“Nope.” Craig immediately shot down the suggestion as he continued to eat with his free hand. Admittedly it was a bit hard holding the plate still and scooping up food all with just one hand, but he’d happily bend over backwards in a heartbeat in exchange for Tweek being comfortable.

Tweek blushed lightly and smiled, his expression a cross between embarrassed and amused. “You’re so stubborn.”

“Hey, if I want to spoil my boyfriend and make sure he feels safe and comfortable, then I will.”

Tweek’s blush darkened as he hit Craig’s palm in embarrassment. “Y-you don’t have to spoil me! I--” He hesitated before continuing. “It doesn’t matter where I’m sitting, I feel safe as long as you’re with me.”

“What did I ever do to deserve such an amazing boyfriend?”

“I’m the one who should be asking that, you dork.”

Craig and Tweek shared a grin before Craig returned his attention to his plate, and a few minutes later he was leaning back in Tweek’s chair with a content sigh, while being mindful not to move the hand holding Tweek.

“I-I’m sorry, you were hungry because you skipped lunch to be with m--” Tweek was cut off from his guilty apology by Craig’s finger lightly patting his head.

“I told you, that was my choice, and I don’t regret it for even a second. You’re more important to me than anything else in the world--except maybe Stripe, Stripe’s important too,” Craig added as an afterthought.

Tweek laughed. “So I have to share my position with Stripe, then?”

“Hm….” Craig appeared to be seriously thinking about this for a moment before he responded, “No, because you’re my most important person and Stripe is my most important pet. There’s a difference.”

Hearing Craig call him his “most important person” caused Tweek’s face to turn a bright red, and he hid his face in his hands partially out of embarrassment and partially to try and hide the lovestruck grin that he was no doubt wearing.

“Jesus, Craig, that was so gay. You’re such a dork.”

“Takes one to know one, babe,” Craig shot back with a grin of his own, prompting another laugh from Tweek.

Tweek peeked up at Craig from behind his hands, hesitating before speaking. “But seriously… y-you’re my most important person too, Craig. I’m so grateful to have you in my life.”

Craig’s expression softened. “Tweek….” He suddenly grinned. “You are”--

“Don’t say it!”

\--” _sooooo_ cute, you know that?”

“ _GAH!_ ” Tweek hit the finger that moved to pet his head, his face bright red in embarrassment. “I am not cute!!”

Craig laughed and continued running his finger along the top of Tweek’s head anyway, thoroughly enjoying Tweek’s stubborn fighting die down with each gentle stroke until he was practically putty in his hand.

“You really enjoy this, don’t you?” Craig murmured with a soft smile.

Tweek made a noise of agreement as he leaned into the petting, his face flushed and his body relaxed. He impulsively reached out and hugged Craig’s finger with a soft sigh, effectively shutting down Craig’s brain for a few seconds as he stared at his adorable shrunken boyfriend. Only the soft sound of Tweek breathing out his name brought Craig back to reality, his heart feeling as if it were swelling to the point of bursting.

“Honey, are you still tired? Do you want to go to bed?” Craig asked softly, keeping both of his hands absolutely still for fear of startling Tweek out of his relaxed state.

Tweek shook his head and hugged Craig’s finger tighter. “... I want to stay up with you. I don’t want to sleep yet.”

Craig smiled. “If you want to stay up, then we’ll stay up. What do you want to do?”

Tweek looked up at his boyfriend, belatedly feeling embarrassed by his behavior yet feeling unwilling to move away from him unless he had to (which he no doubt would have to soon). “ _Nngh_ … I-I don’t know, whatever you want to do is fine by me. Choosing is too much pressure.”

“Okay, then how about we get ready for bed and watch a movie together?” At least that way, Craig figured, he’d be able to let Tweek stay asleep if he ended up dozing off again, instead of having to disturb his sleep once more.

Tweek nodded with a smile. “Okay. That sounds good.”

* * *

Aside from the awkwardness of getting cleaned up and ready for bed (awkward on Tweek’s part, at least, since Craig didn’t seem to be the least bit bothered by having to help Tweek into the sink to empty his bladder and into a bowl of warm water to take a bath, nor did he seem bothered by the thought of Tweek sitting on the sink counter potentially watching him take a shower), the rest of the night passed by peacefully, with Craig and Tweek watching two movies back to back before finally beginning to doze off.

Thankfully, Craig was a very calm sleeper--Tweek could confirm this, having shared a bed with him plenty of times and never once seen or felt him roll around in his sleep--so neither of them were too worried about Tweek sleeping in bed with him. Tweek’s worries were more centered around himself moving in his sleep, but Craig made sure to take care of that by setting Tweek up on the side of the bed closest to the wall, and he took a few of Tweek’s shirts and pressed them into the small crack in between the mattress and the wall, making sure that even if Tweek somehow managed to roll over that far he wouldn’t accidentally roll himself off the bed.

Yet despite all of this: having Craig near him, having no possible way of getting hurt, having been perfectly calm just a few minutes ago as he said goodnight to his boyfriend before Craig turned out the lights….

Tweek was wide awake.

Perhaps it was the fact that he’d gotten a decent amount of sleep earlier in the day thanks to Craig, or perhaps it was the storm that was beginning to blow outside his bedroom window, making the room’s shadows dance and filling the otherwise silent room with chilling noises--whatever the reason may have been, Tweek quickly found himself too terrified to even close his eyes.

_Focus on Craig, focus on Craig, he’s right next to me and he won’t let anything bad happen to me and--!!_

Tweek let out a startled shout at the sound of thunder before quickly slapping his hands over his mouth, hoping that he hadn’t woken his boyfriend up and feeling a mixture of relief and fear when Craig barely flinched at the noise.

Suddenly, Craig felt like he was miles away, even if Tweek knew it would take less than a second for his boyfriend to clear the distance between them. His breaths began coming in uneven pants and tears stung his eyes, his body shaking as he warred with himself for god-knows how long, anxious terror fighting against the desire to not be any more of a burden than he already had been all day.

One last burst of lightning followed by a loud crack of thunder made the decision for him, and he bolted over to Craig as fast as his shaking legs would carry him, hiding against the crook of his neck as he trembled and sobbed.

Craig gradually woke up as the noise of sobbing reached his ears, and he stiffened as he felt something pressed against his neck, immediately realizing what happened and not wanting to accidentally hurt his shrunken boyfriend by moving. Instead, he carefully reached over to his neck and put his hand on top of Tweek, his expression softening as he felt him flinch moments before the blond threw himself against his hand. Craig carefully lifted Tweek up before gently setting him down on his chest, right above his heart.

“Shh… it’s okay babe, you’re safe, it’s just a storm.”

The sound of Craig’s voice combined with the sound of his heartbeat helped ease Tweek down from his panicked high, his shaking dying down to slight trembling as he gripped Craig’s shirt and pressed himself closer to his boyfriend. He let out a shaky sigh when Craig gently rubbed his back before glancing up at him, calming down enough for his fear to be replaced by guilt.

“I-I’m sorry, I was t-trying to calm down w-without waking you up, b-but….”

“Tweek, it’s okay. I’m glad you woke me up,” Craig assured him, and Tweek tried his best to believe that his boyfriend really wasn’t upset with him for disturbing his sleep.

“B-but--”

“Shh….” Craig ran his finger along the top of Tweek’s head. “It’s okay.”

Tweek still looked unsure, but his expression shifted quickly to surprise and then confusion when Craig gently scooped him up and sat up in bed.

“Craig?”

“Tweek, close your eyes.”

The blond frowned, further confused by the sudden request, but Craig’s expression was soft and showed no signs of anger or annoyance, and so Tweek did as told, trusting that whatever Craig was going to do would help ease whatever bits of panicked anxiety that were still lingering in his mind.

Craig leaned over and very, very carefully pressed his lips to the top of Tweek’s head, his own light blush paling in comparison to the bright red blush on Tweek’s face as he quickly realized what Craig did.

He’d done it simply with the intention of helping Tweek calm down, but he hadn’t so much as glanced at the time, which happened to turn to midnight just as Craig pulled back from the gentle kiss.

And suddenly, Tweek was fully-sized and laying on top of him.

The two boys stared at each other in a mixture of shock and confusion for a minute before slow, incredulous grins spread across their faces.

“So I’m guessing the prince’s kiss broke the evil spell over the princess?” Craig teased as he wrapped his arms around Tweek, completely unbothered by the blond laying on top of him.

Tweek blushed, too amused and relieved to bother even faking anger. “I-I guess so.” He hesitated for a second before pressing a kiss to Craig’s cheek. “Thank you.”

Now it was Craig’s turn to blush as he glanced away in embarrassment, not having expected Tweek to take his joking comment seriously. He took a second to compose himself before deciding to take the plunge and press his lips directly against Tweek’s, who showed no sign of rejecting the sudden display of affection as he made a soft noise into the kiss.

Tweek was the first to break away from the kiss, shifting so he could properly lay down on the bed while still staying snuggled up against his boyfriend, and he smiled as he felt Craig press another kiss to the top of his head.

“We should really get back to sleep,” Craig suggested, moving a hand up to stifle a yawn, and Tweek nodded against him in agreement, feeling much more relaxed now that everything in his room was normal-sized.

Tweek shifted to press one more kiss to Craig’s cheek before settling against him with a smile. “Goodnight Craig.” He hesitated for a moment, pressing his face closer to Craig’s chest in embarrassment as he quietly added, “I love you.”

Craig needed a few seconds to process the quiet statement, but once the three words registered in his mind, a bright, silly grin spread across his face--he was sure that Tweek could hear how his heart sped up, but he couldn’t even bring himself to feel embarrassed. Instead, he merely leaned over enough to press one last kiss to the top of Tweek’s head before closing his eyes.

“Goodnight Tweek. Love you too.”

With that, the boys continued to lay in each other’s arms as they drifted off, the once-fearful storm now serving as nothing but white noise as the couple slept peacefully through the night.


End file.
